Cognitive Development

You know, if I didn't want to go into physics, one of my other top choices, next to a life as a monk, would involve psychology. In the past year, I've learned a lot about psychology that I would have never even thought possible. Here's one of these more interesting points in terms of developmental psychology. What you can think changes as you age!

It seems rather intuitive once you hear it, but I never really thought of it until I saw the idea for the first time. As you go through different stages of development, you literally open up whole new worlds to explore. Just as a 5 year old child could never understand that two glasses may have different heights but the same volume, who knows what level of knowledge we can't even see. To believe that the rational mode of the thought is the highest level of development is a major form of rationalcentrism. That's exactly what every other group that reached the "pinnacle" of their modes of seeing the world thought.
Seriously, why would it stop there?
Just think of all the worlds out there to explore if we'll just continue to grow. Holy Fuck.

Speaking of holy, transpersonal psychologists claim that spiritual realizations exist at levels of development beyond the rational (ie formal operational) mode of thought. And who's to say they're wrong? The only way to find out is to take up a spiritual practice and dig in. Just like a child couldn't possibly see, let alone understand, the idea of imaginary numbers, perhaps a person stuck at the rational stage of development couldn't possibly see nor understand the concept of Emptiness, the Absolute, etc. No matter what, though, it's fun to think of staunch rationalists like Richard Dawkin's as a temper-tantruming child.

PS I realize that much of the world's religions are based on mythology, and limitting mythology at that. Such thought probably came about as a result of developing through that level of cognitivie capacity and a negligence to transcend said level. The variety of spirituality / religion that I'm espousing (though I'm not really even espousing it) involves "true" (to the extent that it's more authentic) religion and spirituality. Religion and spirituality that is at least rational, if not trans-rational.

PPS Wow, I definitely didn't intend for this post to be so philosophical / spiritual sounding. I just wanted to post the cool website about cognitive development. Oops. How the mind runs when left unchecked.